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San Diego mayors have history of shortened tenure

If embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner steps down Friday as expected, he will become the fourth leader of the nation's 8th largest city since the 1980s to resign before his term is up. Filner, a former

In a letter to Filner last week urging him to step down, Hedgecock said he was in the "unique position" to give the embattled mayor some advice because he understood what it is like to lose "the bond of trust that must exist between at least a majority of San Diego city voters and the mayor."

Dick Murphy resigned five months into his second term in 2005 amid the city's crushing financial woes at the time, leading San Diego to be dubbed "Enron by the Sea." Murphy had been blamed for, among other things, his handling of the city's billion-dollar pension deficit that helped push San Diego on the brink of insolvency. Murphy said he was resigning to give the city a fresh start.

Filner's resignation would mean City Council President Todd Gloria would be acting mayor until a special election is held. That election would occur within 90 days of a vacancy. Municipal posts in California are non-partisan, but Filner is the first Democrat in 20 years to be elected San Diego mayor.